Avenging Charles Dorian
by TheKaizoku
Summary: After receiving news of the death of his apprentice, Charles Dorian, Master Assassin Pierre Bellec sets out to avenge his death. Short story. If you liked the story or have any comments, please review, favourite and follow.


Bad news spread fast. In two days news of the Assassin Charles Dorian's death was known to the entire French Assassin Order. Charles Dorian had been the apprentice of Master Assassin Pierre Bellec, and he had been killed by an unknown assailant in the Palace of Versailles.

Pierre Bellec was both furious and saddened at the same time at Charles' death. He was in front of the Assassin council.

"The Templars must pay for my apprentice's death," Charles said, determined, as he tried to keep the anger and grief out of his voice.

"Revenge will drive you wild, Pierre Bellec. You must learn to calm yourself down. We are all, saddened by the death of Charles Dorian," said one councilmember.

Pierre shook his head. "An eye for an eye, a life for a life. I'll just kill the killer."

The Assassin Mentor, who was at that time not yet Mirabeau, said, "The council shall discuss. You will have an audience with us, once the killer's identity is found and confirmed."

Pierre left the Assassin headquarters, located underneath the Sainte-Chapelle, going through a tunnel to appear at the Café Theatre, a business front of the French Assassins.

Leaving the café, Pierre went to find an Assassin informant named Christopher, who was undercover as a street vendor. Christopher recognised Pierre immediately.

"Master Bellec," Christopher whispered. "Do you require any assistance?"

Pierre asked, keeping his voice low, "Do you know anything of the death of my apprentice?"

"No sir. We don't even know who the killer is. But all I know is what the entire Assassin Order knows," Christopher said.

Examining Christopher, Pierre confirmed that he was not lying. "Well, Christopher. If you get some new information, you must tell me before informing the Assassin council. And you will not tell them I made this request, am I clear?"

Christopher nodded. "Very clear, Master Bellec."

To avoid raising suspicion, Pierre bought some food from Christopher, before eating the food as he walked down the street.

Days later, the Assassin Order had received news from another informant that the Templars were planning on something big, so the Templars in the area could gain power and influence. And there were new leads on the killer of Charles Dorian. The killer had been confirmed to be a Templar, but the Templar was not a local one.

Pierre decided to take things into his own hands, going to the house of a Templar-allied minor politician named Johan. Johan had been under the watch of Assassins for a few months already, but Pierre did not care.

Johan owned and lived in a building not far from the Café Theatre, and on the ground floor of the building was a small shop to earn extra income for Johan.

Walking into the store, Johan asked the shopkeeper, "Where is Mr Johan?"

The shopkeeper replied, "He went out to run some errands, he should be back soon."

While waiting for Johan to return, Pierre browsed around the shop. It was about twenty minutes before Johan returned to the shop.

"Sir," the shopkeeper nodded at Johan's direction as he entered. "A man here asked for you earlier."

Johan walked up to Pierre. "Are you the one who called for me earlier?"

Snick.

"Eh? What's that noise?" queried Johan, looking around the shop.

Pierre turned around, with his Hidden Blade showing. Johan's face changed from a calm one to a terrified one. Before Johan tried to run, Pierre grabbed his hand, pulling Johan towards him.

Covering his mouth with a hand and using the other hand to hold Johan at knifepoint, Pierre asked, "Who killed Charles Dorian?"

Johan struggled, trying to alert the shopkeeper and flee, but Pierre's grip was too strong.

"Who?" Pierre asked slightly louder this time, pressing the Hidden Blade harder against Johan's throat.

"Is everything going alright?" the shopkeeper called out.

Using a friendlier tone, Pierre replied, "We're fine! Just a little more and we're done."

Pierre slightly loosened his hand that was covering Johan's mouth.

"I…I don't know!" said Johan. "All I know...is that he's an Assassin turncoat. He used to work for the Templars in America, before arriving just a few weeks ago. His name, I remember it vaguely. It's Shawn or something like that."

"Are you sure?" Pierre questioned, kicking Johan hard in the back of the leg. He then covered Johan's mouth tightly again so the shopkeeper would not hear Johan.

Johan nodded frantically.

Moving his hand across Johan's throat, Pierre slashed it. He placed Johan's body gently onto the floor. "You have helped me well, Templar. I reward you with a quick death. Rest in peace."

Putting away his Hidden Blade, Pierre walked out of the shop, forcing a polite smile at the shopkeeper as he left. He wondered how shocked the shopkeeper would be when he discovered that Johan was dead.

He spent a few hours watching the Seine, until sunset came. Pierre then returned to the Assassin headquarters. By then the Assassin council had heard of Pierre's killing of Johan.

"Why did you kill him, Bellec? You knew very well we were watching him," the Mentor's voice had a tinge of anger in it.

Pierre answered, "He had information about our killer. Information that you would take a very long time to find."

One of the councilmembers said, "Well then, Master Bellec. Tell the Assassin council what the Templar told you."

"Johan told me that the killer had worked with the Templars in America, and had worked for the Assassins before. And he said that the man's name is something close to Shawn. The killer must have been in America when he worked for the Assassins as well."

"That is indeed valuable information," the Assassin Mentor said. "But it would take very long to send a letter to the American Brotherhood. By then the killer could have already left France."

"Then we'll just have to question more Templars," said Pierre.

Pierre did not wait, nor did he have the leisure to wait. That night, he went to find a Templar who went by the name of La Tyran, who was infamous for terrorising street sellers at night.

Soon he found La Tyran, bullying a seller selling perfume. "This scent smells pretty good, old man! How about I take them for free?"

The seller, a man in his mid-forties, shook his head in fear. "You can't, sir! I have to make a living! At least two francs for all the bottles!"

"Two francs?" La Tyran snarled.

At that moment, Pierre intervened.

"Mind your own business!" La Tyran said, pushing Pierre aside.

Pierre retaliated, kicking La Tyran hard in the back. La Tyran knocked into the market stand, destroying it as well as all the perfume. The seller was shocked when he saw his stand and goods destroyed.

La Tyran turned around and glared at Pierre. "You will regret it."

"That's what they always say," Pierre rolled his eyes as his Hidden Blade sprung.

Seeing the Hidden Blade, La Tyran started running. Pierre took a handful of francs from his pouch and handed them to the shop seller, before chasing after the thug.

Pierre had to admit, La Tyran ran pretty fast. After a few minutes of pursuing him from the ground, Pierre gave up and used the rooftops instead. Using the rooftops helped Pierre closed the distance between him and La Tyran.

After a while, La Tyran looked back, only to realise Pierre was missing. Thinking that Pierre had stopped chasing him, La Tyran slowed down to catch his breath.

Positioning himself correctly, Pierre leaped off the building. He landed on La Tyran, knocking him onto the ground. Pierre used his hands to restraint La Tyran.

"Who killed Charles Dorian?" Pierre demanded to know.

La Tyran snarled and spat on Pierre's face. Pierre did not take to that kindly, twisting one of La Tyran's hands. La Tyran screamed in agony.

It was now Pierre's turn to spit on La Tyran. "Tell me or I'll twist your other arm."

"So you were the one who killed Johan, eh?" La Tyran guessed.

Pierre was annoyed that La Tyran was not answering him. Taking his other hand, Pierre twisted it as well.

"You still have two legs," Pierre hinted. "Better start answering my questions."

"I will tell you three words, nothing more. Shay Patrick Cormac."

Pierre recognised the name at once. Shay had been an Assassin from the late 1740s to the mid-1750s, and was well-known to the Assassin Order for his doings as a Templar.

"Are you sure?" Pierre said, reaching for La Tyran's leg.

La Tyran nodded frantically. Pierre nodded, contented with the answer. He released his Hidden Blade and killed La Tyran with one slash.

Entering the Assassin headquarters' council chamber, Pierre told the Assassin councilmen, "The killer is Shay Patrick Cormac."

"Are you sure he is the killer?" one of the councilmen asked.

Pierre nodded. "It came from the mouth of La Tyran, a French thug, also a member of the Templars. He's dead now, of course."

The Assassin Mentor informed, "You have done enough, Master Bellec. We will settle with Shay Cormac."

"Charles Dorian was my apprentice, not yours. With all respect, I should be the one watching him die."

"There will be no more discussion about this. You are dismissed, Master Bellec," the Assassin Mentor said as he raised an imperial hand to prevent Pierre from continuing.

If only it was as simple as that to stop Pierre.

A few days later Christopher informed him that Shay was heading towards the city of Nantes, which was located pretty close to the sea. However, Shay was travelling to Nantes the slow way – by hitchhiking.

Wanting to reach Nantes quickly, Pierre 'borrowed' a speedy horse and made his way to the city.

One day later Pierre saw a man sitting at the back of the wagon, clad in black robes, looking at the ground. Scanning the man, Pierre saw that he was armed with swords and pistols.

"Hey there!" Pierre called out with a faked cheeriness to the man.

The man looked up and saw the man riding on the horse. Pierre continued, "Do you know of a certain Mister Cormac?"

He saw Shay put a hand around one of his pistols. "Why do you wish to meet with him?"

Without hesitation, Pierre answered, "I am a servant of Grand Master de la Serre! I have been ordered to pass a letter to you."

Shay loosened his grip on his pistol. "Ah…the one living in Troyes?" he tested.

Pierre smiled. "Versaille, Paris. He owns estates almost everywhere."

Hopping off the wagon, Shay walked over to Pierre. Pierre dismounted his horse and strolled over.

"How are things going on in Paris?" Shay asked.

"The work of the Assassins is shrouded in secrecy, but the Grand Master has discovered that they will soon uncover your identity. It will be wise for you to escape the country as soon as possible. He recommends a place with strong Templar influence."

Taking the letter from Pierre, Shay nodded. Pierre unsheathed his sword slowly, saying, "Grand Master de la Serre wishes to give this to you. He thinks that he will never meet you again, and wants to give you a gift of passing."

Shay extended his hands to receive the sword. Instead of giving it to Shay, Pierre drove the sword into his stomach.

"What?" Shay was stunned.

Pierre released his Hidden Blade, sneering. "You'll pay for everything you've done, pisspot."

Despite being injured, Shay did not flee. With a flick of his wrist, Shay revealed a Hidden Blade that he was equipped with. Shay drew a Spanish Sword with his other hand.

For a man of his age, Shay moved fast, even though he was wounded. Pierre deflected the blow with his sword, at the same time kneeing Shay in his stomach wound. Shay grunted and moved back a few paces.

After a few seconds, which Shay used to recover from the attack, he charged forward, preparing to stab Pierre with the Hidden Blade. Pierre sidestepped the attack without difficulty. However, Shay had expected for that to happen, and quickly spun around, swiping his Hidden Blade. The Hidden Blade grazed Pierre's shoulder.

"You do well for an old and wounded one," Pierre commended. "But you'll die anyway."

While Pierre was talking, Shay had swapped his Hidden Blade with a flintlock pistol. Pierre noticed Shay pulling the pistol out, and had quickly moved.

In two seconds Pierre was behind Shay. He brought his sword down on Shay, but Shay turned around at the last moment, deflecting the attack with his sword. Pierre danced to one side, barely dodging the bullet from Shay's flintlock pistol.

Pierre swung his sword a full circle, slicing into Shay's back with it. Shay coughed out blood, and staggered away from Pierre.

"Come back here, you coward!" Pierre said. "Let me finish what I've started!"

Shay drew another flintlock pistol and fired at Pierre. The bullet was a mere quarter of a centimeter away from Pierre. The bullet scraped Pierre in the arm.

"You bastard, trying to finish me with pistols," Pierre spat. "I'll show you how real men fight!"

With two large yet quick steps, Pierre closed the gap between him and Shay. Kicking Shay hard in his thigh, Pierre sheathed his sword and seized Shay by his neck.

Pierre punched Shay repeatedly in the jaw, and enjoyed it as blood flowed from Shay's mouth. "I'm not going to let you die so easily, pisspot," Pierre said, spitting on Shay's face.

Shay summoned the remainder of his strength, driving his Hidden Blade into Pierre's stomach. But Pierre had seen it coming, and quickly unclipped Shay's Hidden Blade, chucking it aside.

"Nice try, but you're not going to kill me so easily," Pierre said. "Why did you kill Charles Dorian?"

Shay decided that there was no point lying anymore. "He had the precursor box. But there's no way you're getting it back, because it's safe in the Templars' hands."

"You killed a person, over a fucking box?" Pierre shook his head in disgust.

"It's not just a box, stupid Assassin. It's an artefact of the First Civilisation."

"So you were thinking that the Templars were going to give you a nice rank of Master Templar, after reclaiming that artefact for them? In this situation, no more chance of that," Pierre said.

Before Shay could reply, Pierre engaged his Hidden Blade and killed Shay Cormac. As Shay lay on the ground, just moments away from death, Pierre muttered, just loud enough for Shay to hear, "Rest in peace, Templar scumbag."


End file.
